All-Men Show At The BCCI AGM, Where Is Women’s Empowerment?

A look at the representatives of the 35 members for the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for September 28 – published by the Electoral Officer in the documents section of the BCCI website – will tell one straightaway that none of them even thought of nominating a woman to attend the meeting. This year’s AGM will elect five office-bearers and one member representative to the nine-member Apex Council for a three year term. It is regrettable that the Indian Railways, Armed Forces/ Services and Association of Indian Universities (AIU) have not been able to find ways to nominate its representatives. While the three government departments have not explored ways, former India cricketers Sourav Ganguly (ex- BCCI president), Harbhajan Singh, Raghuram Bhat will attend the AGM representing Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka. The National Sports Governance Bill 2025 mandates the presence of four women at least in a 15 member executive committee of a national sports federation, and this will happen once the National Sports Board is put in place and the sports federations seek its membership. But as of now, none of the BCCI members have deemed it fit to nominate a woman, be it a former India or State cricketer or otherwise, to attend the AGM when many of them could have taken the step to empower women at a meeting like the AGM when policy decisions are taken. The BCCI, under Jay Shah took a number of initiatives to provide an impetus to women’s cricket. The young ICC chair, Shah, has increased the prize money manifold for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup, but the BCCI members are still reluctant to be game-changers by nominating a woman for a meeting that is convened once in a year.